InsaneJournal

Who: Klaric (Klaus in Alaric’s Body), Parker, Damon Salvatore and John Gilbert, witha cameo by Katherine Pierce.
What: They’re finally working out that Ric isn’t really Ric.
Where: An abandoned apartment on the sixth floor of Building D.
When: Evening.
Rating: PG-13?
Status: Complete.

Klaus was getting bored with playing the part of Alaric. He’d only allowed it to go on so long because there hadn’t been any real challenge in it. The Salvatores were their human selves and the city was in such chaos that the revelation of his presence wouldn’t have nearly the impact it ought to have. Yes, he was arrogant, but he felt he had earned it after all these years. Besides, he liked the attention, and he really wanted to watch these people fall apart. He couldn’t break the curse here, since it required being in the birthplace of the doppelganger, but he could certainly cause some chaos. If they wanted Ric back, they’d have to give him their best. Without his body in the city, he was far less inclined to give this one up than he might have been in Mystic Falls.

“Pay attention, my dear,” he told Katerina, who was sitting in a chair off to the side driving a knife through her hand. He did so enjoy watching her bleed. Crossing over to her, he ran his fingers through her hair before moving over to the sofa and sitting down with a glass of bourbon. “I have a feeling things are going to be getting interesting very soon.” Because they were starting to work out that something was wrong and, clever children that they were, they would soon realise that Ric was not Ric. They might not put all the pieces together, but they would most certainly come after him for answer.

Taking a sip of the alcohol, he smiled to himself. He look forward to it.

There were a great many details about this that Damon didn’t care for. Confronting Ric about him acting odd was one thing, but having to track him down through a clairvoyant only to find out that he was currently in the company of one Katherine Pierce, in an empty apartment, and somehow appeared ‘odd’, whatever the hell that meant, was enough to make Damon want to rip out someone’s throat. Namely, Katherine’s, because it only made sense that the little manipulative bitch was behind this somehow even if Damon couldn’t fathom what reason Katherine could have for wanting to mess with Alaric or how she could have ever managed to get past the vervain regiment that he knew Ric took religiously. But in his mind, it was the only thing that made sense, and he was bound and determined to string her up for it.

John, on the other hand, was less convinced that this was Katherine’s fault and had been hanging back quietly since their inquires as to the whereabouts of Alaric Saltzman. He wasn’t anywhere near Jenna for once, a revelation that had very nearly prompted John to bow out of the entire endeavor, but Damon’s sudden blood lust as well as his own curiosities had kept him along for the ride. This was still a matter that needed to be resolved one way or the other, and he’d much rather it was done without ripping out anyone’s heart.

Parker didn't really know what Molly meant by Ric looking odd but she didn't have to know either. She knew that something was wrong with Ric and that had only confirmed her suspicions. She was torn as to whether to not to simply believe Katherine was responsible, especially considering she'd had her suspicions about Ric back when Katherine had been wanting to go on walks with Damon. No, all Parker knew for sure was that something was wrong and whoever was responsible was going to pay.

Staring at the door to the apartment where Molly had said the duo could be found, Parker glanced to Damon then John. "Behave," she said sternly, her gaze flickering back to Damon. "Both of you." She wasn't sure if Damon would listen or not but she had to give him fair warning. She also had no issue calling for Cas to sit on him if it came down to it. And as for John... well, Parker figured she could probably handle the guy on her own. He might be capable of some pretty gnarly stuff but she was decidedly less balanced and far more protective of her friends than most gave her credit for being.

She didn't even think about knocking. A simple twist of the doorknob and the door swung open. It wasn't very dramatic but she really didn't care about that right now. Something was wrong with Ric and she wanted to know what it was. Drawing in a calming breath, she moved further into the apartment, pausing at the sight that greeted her.

"Okay," she said slowly after a heartbeat, looking from Ric sitting, drinking his bourbon, to Katherine off to the side, hurting herself. "Anybody else confused? I'm definitely confused."

It was almost as if he had scheduled it. He hadn’t, of course, but it certainly would have been impressive if he had. He’d have to think about that when he was back in Mystic Falls. Parker’s abrupt statement prompted a dark laugh, and then he knocked back the rest of the bourbon and got to his feet. He shifted, dropping the persona of Alaric and smirked at the group. And what an interesting group it was. Parker was an enigma unto herself, and he had it on good authority that Damon Salvatore and John Gilbert couldn’t stand one another. This, he decided, would definitely be fun.

“Well, it certainly took you all long enough,” he said. “I was honestly beginning to think I was surrounded by idiots.” He looked over at Katherine and smiled in a parody of fondness. “You can stop that, Katerina. You’re liable to make a mess if you keep it up. And we wouldn’t want that, now would we?” She dutifully closed the knife, setting it down on her lap, and he reached over to idly tousle her hair. “Thank you, sweetie.”

Returning his attention to the group assembled in the doorway, he considered them for a moment before speaking. “I’m afraid if you’re looking for Alaric, he’s not in at the moment.” He raised an eyebrow. “Can I take a message?”

Parker was not the only one confused. But while Damon felt as though his mind was about to rebel at the realization that Katherine was apparently innocent and something had apparently usurped his best friend, John found himself intrigued. This wasn’t Alaric. That much was obvious. He’d said so himself, after all, but if it wasn’t Alaric, exactly who was it and what had happened to the irritating history teacher? Not that he cared, strictly speaking, but Jenna would probably murder him if she had any inkling that he’d stood by while her boyfriend was used like a cheap suit. “You could tell him he might want to get a better answering service,” John drawled, leaning against the doorframe. “This looks like far too much of a hassle than what it’s worth.” John wasn’t entirely surprised by the glare that Damon leveled at him, but the Salvatore should really have kept his eye on the matter at hand rather than judging him for a quip that was hardly any worse than the ones he made all the time.

“What the hell’s going on?” Damon demanded as his attention returned to Ric, not-Ric, before lingering on Katherine. He still had a strong desire to demand that she explain what she’d done, even as the blood around her self-inflicted wounds dried, because this situation made absolutely no sense without some sort of force behind it. People’s personalities didn’t change overnight. “If you’re not Ric, who the hell are you?”

“I could take a guess,” John sighed, only earning himself another glare. “Or not.”

Parker didn't want to guess. She wanted answers. She wanted to know who this thing was inside of her friend and, more importantly, how to make it leave. Frowning, arms crossed over her chest, she ignored the glares Damon was shooting John's way and payed little attention to the quips. "I want to know who you are and why you're possessing Ric," she stated simply, tone clipped and words flat.

Only once she'd spoken did she drag her gaze toward Damon and John. "And you two stop it," she barked. Honestly, she was starting to feel like she was back working with Eliot and Hardison, only without anything to steal and no earpiece. And she was pretty sure Eliot wouldn't actually kill Hardison. She definitely couldn't say the same for Damon when it came to John. Right now though, she just wanted them to pay attention on what was important. They could rip each other to pieces later for all she cared, but only after they'd helped Ric.

It was more amusing than he’d anticipated. The three of them, and the interplay between them, was more entertaining than anything had been since he had arrived here. “I wouldn’t exactly say our good friend Ric picked me for his answering service,” he admitted. “But he’s only human. What he wants is of little consequence really.” He looked over at John. “You have quite the tongue on you, Gilbert. I’ll have to remember to cut it out...or maybe I’ll have dear, sweet Aunt Jenna do it. She’s been terribly accommodating. But compulsion will do that, I suppose.” He wouldn’t, of course, but it was fun to push the man’s buttons.

“Right,” he said. “I really am being quite rude here, aren’t I, not even introducing myself? My manners really are slacking this century. My given name, as it was back in the day, is Niklaus. But you may call me Klaus, as I believe that’s the name with which you’re familiar. I’m sure you were expecting something different, but it seems so much more practical to use a loaner, don’t you think? Isobel was kind enough to offer me this one, and he really does serve his purpose. After all, you’re hardly going to kill your friend here just to slow me down a little. I’m almost disappointed that my pretty little doppelganger has missed this party. Such a shame. I was so hoping to get to know her.”

“Like hell I won’t,” Damon snapped, the nervous energy practically vibrating out of him as it became obvious exactly what was going through his mind as his wide ice blue eyes darted between Ric’s ring, his neck, and his eyes that were bright with Klaus’s madness. It was only John’s hands on Damon’s shoulders that kept the vampire from darting forward and snapping Ric’s neck a second later to get rid of the intruder in his best friend’s mind. John found himself violently shrugged off a moment later, but it seemed like Damon had gotten the drift. A knee-jerk reaction that might end with Alaric dead on the floor, and their blond female companion murdering them both seemed a very, very bad idea to John even if Damon’s initial thought seemed reasonable enough if they actually contemplated the full result of such an action.

“You’re going to get bored,” John said, eyeing ‘Klaus’ with a hint of wariness in his eyes. He’d had a bad feeling that that was where this was heading, but John was hardly intending on rising to the bait that was being fed to him. Even as hurt and indignant as he still felt towards Isobel’s death, he wasn’t planning on giving Klaus the satisfaction of snapping at the idea that Isobel would actually willingly offer up someone that she cared about to be used and molested in such a fashion. Even with Isobel’s sudden selfishness, he couldn’t see her willingly doing this. Not to Alaric. “It’s not like we have anything to offer you here, and you certainly can’t get done what you want to. So why bother to stick around?”

Parker didn’t have anything to say to Klaus. Asking him to leave wasn’t going to work and there was no possible way to force him. No, they needed to regroup. They needed to figure out a plan that would work... and one that preferably didn’t rely on ‘killing Ric’ being the bulk of it. Shooting a dark glare at Damon, she glanced briefly at John to make sure he wasn’t going to try anything more than speaking to the... whatever was inside of Ric.

Then she turned on her heel and poked Damon in the chest.

“I said behave,” she growled, glaring balefully up at him. “Killing him isn’t the answer. We don’t even know if it’ll work.” She paused, huffed, then stomped her foot. It was clear she was agitated as she finally snapped, “Don’t make me vervain you in the throat. BEHAVE.” With that, she spun back toward Ric and shot him a dark look. It certainly said something, to her at least, that John Gilbert was the only one in the room she wasn’t worried about doing something stupid at this point.

“That would be a very foolish move, Damon,” Klaus said with an easy smile. “Ric here may be human, but at the moment that gaudy little ring he wears wouldn’t quite count him as such. All you’d accomplish is killing your friend. And then I would find someone else.” He was confident in the fact that he had the upper hand in this, and he wasn’t worried about any of these people stopping him. “Of course there’s always the chance he would come back. Maybe I’ve been drinking Katherine’s blood...you have no way of knowing. But he would never forgive you for that, would he? Still, go ahead and try. It makes no difference to me.”

He positively grinned at Parker’s reaction to Damon. He liked her fire. It was captivating. If he hadn’t known just the sort of powerful allies she had, he might have liked to keep her. But he hadn’t survived so many centuries by being foolish. Parker wouldn’t come to any harm by his hand. “You’re feisty, Parker,” he said cheerfully. “I like it.” He spared a glance at John, not overly interested in him. “I have plenty of things to occupy me here,” he assured the man, “especially now that I don’t have to play at being the mild-mannered history teacher. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Damon felt as though he was going to snap. Having to watch words that wouldn’t in a million years leave Ric’s mouth in his voice on top of being restrained by both John Gilbert and lectured by Parker had amped his anxiety up several hundred times, and as his eyes flashed with a manic edge, he only stood down because he could hardly fight abuse coming from all sides. The idea that Klaus might have been drinking Katherine’s blood just to make murder an unforgivable action in so many ways only angered Damon even more. Being forced into inaction was not something that Damon suffered well especially when it was a situation that he wanted to fix more than anything else.

“Bite me,” Parker deadpanned, fixing Klaus with a bland look. She knew he wouldn’t. Not only would he be risking Cas’ wrath, he’d have to contend with quite a few other friends of hers who wouldn’t let the archangel have all the fun. She wasn’t worried for herself, knowing she was protected, but she certainly was worried for Ric. It was time to regroup.

“Let’s go,” she said, shooting Damon then John a look that said she wasn’t going to discuss or argue the point. There was nothing else to be done about it. They needed a way to get Klaus out of Ric and, until they’d figured that out, there wasn’t anything else she was willing to risk.

“I’m afraid I’m not all that hungry, my dear,” Klaus said dryly, “but thank you for the offer.” Not that he actually drank blood, or much of anything besides bourbon, at the moment. That was one thing he and this body seemed to have in common, an abiding love of alcohol. “It’s such a shame, the lot of you leaving so soon, but I’m sure we’ll have a chance to catch up soon enough. I look forward to watching you scramble to find a way to stop me.” And he really was. Because they would try, but he felt confident in the knowledge that they didn’t have means in this place to remove him from their friend’s body.

Damon looked for a moment like he was going to rush over and murder Klaus even with Parker’s threat and the knowledge that Ric probably wouldn’t come back if he did hanging over him, but John grabbing his arm and fixing the vampire with a pointed stare cut off whatever thought process that would have pushed Damon into such a dangerous action. Ripping his arm away from John’s grasp, Damon shoved past the Gilbert and towards the door with Parker, leaving John to hang back a moment. Leveling Klaus with a dark gaze, John allowed his attention to move slowly to Katherine. “Have fun, Katherine. And keep in mind that you’ve earned every second of it,” He said before turning his back on the two of them and leaving the apartment behind.